On Wednesday April 19 2017, Cameroon's vuvuzelatious Issa Tchiroma Bakary accused 'Jeune Afrique' magazine of writing 'sully articles' concerning Cameroon since 2011. Tchiroma's accusations were made during a Press Conference in Yaounde, and as usual, this was another cynical move to seal the lips of loud press with black plasters to prevent them from writing against everything bad about Cameroon and its Head of State of 34 years.

Less than two weeks after his lousy declarations, 'Jeune Afrique' comes after Tchiroma in a self defense publication, by its Editor in Chief François Soudan, contradicting Tchiroma's accusations, by recalling all the positive articles their media house have published about Cameroon from 2011 to 2017. Soudan also says Tchiroma's lousiness is the aftermaths of his imprisonment on his person.

François Soudan in JA's edition of 2nd May 2017 says Issa Tchiroma Bakary whom everyone in Cameroon calls Tchiroma is just like his counterpart Lambert Mende of the Democratic Republic of Congo , with no talents.

A railway engineer from Garoua in the North Region, Tchiroma was unjustly imprisoned for seven years without judgement, after the failed April 1984 coup.

He then took the hard political route, which is a very classic game in Central Africa, with vocal critics on Paul Biya, who made him Minister of transport in 1992, sacked him in 1996, where frustrations led him into becoming an opposition.

He was made Minister again after years of sabotaging Paul Biya whom he venerates today, and for almost eight years now, he is the Minister of Communication in Cameroon, where he has become a vuvuzelator, which is normal for people in positions like him, people who the hardships of his prison island, has rendered more cynical than humanist, to the extend that he has decided to make our newspaper (Jeun e Afrique) his constant scapegoat.

This time, it is judging all our activities from 2011(why this date? he alone knows) that septuagenarian, always dressed in beautiful gandouras, called a group of learned journalists, some of who were asked to write down everything he had to say.

What a shame!, but did they have a choice? CRTV, Cameroon Tribune and half a dozen of private media went back with their copies of the minutes of his crazy meeting.

The outcome is breathtaking 'Editorial Hostility' 'An ode to hatred' 'deliberate fury' 'will to destroy the stability of our institutions and undermine our values'. 'company of manipulation', 'tribalistic fibers', apocalyptic angle', all these for the services of 'mentors and other sponsors' who are working behind the scene, to destroy the reputation of Cameroon.

JA has not known such similar bitter violent verbal attack since the bad days of Sekou Toure.

At a glance, one will apply the quotes of Talleyrand which says, ' anything that is excessive and insignificant is not worth commenting' to Tchiroma's rantings. But in this case, our State Counsel Tchiroma, pretending to be talking 'on behalf of President of the Republic, HE Paul Biya', uses his voice to caution journalists and the Cameroonian people to 'remain vigilant' and to ' bring more appropriate answers to these treacherous attempts', so that the matter can take a different dimension.An analysis of selective contents
"The analysis of the contents which M. Tchiroma is talking about, to say the least, is selective. According to him, JA only writes negatively about Cameroon, and has never written anything good about it, forgetting articles contradicting his declarations like 'our economy is standing tall, by resisting the crisis which all CEMAC member countries are facing. Did JA not talk about that?'.

Very wrong approach! JA in its September 2016 and early February 2017 Editions, wrote lengthily on two topics about the said 'resistance', under the title 'Never Failing' which was fully developed in our columns.

Reminding him again, is the article we wrote towards the end of last year, on ' 50 people who build up Cameroon', Cameroonian companies that stand distinguished over and over again like 'start-up of the week' and our cover on the 'decline of the main opposition party' (SOS SDF) three months ago, and so many other inquiries that will contradict Tchiroma's accusations.

To support his claims, and what can only be called a form of paranoia, the Minister went too far, without ever reading the depths of the contents, he transforms our article titles or neutral headlines to 'malicious intentions'.

Therefore, 'How is Cameroon doing?' 'from Biya to Biya', ' How Cameroon won the AFCON?', 'Biya opposes the North', or 'Bamilekes and power' are also all 'provocations'..

Forgetting the voluntary long documentary of 2015, that we made within the Rapid Intervention Squad in the fight against Boko Haram terrorists, and which was on the cover page of JA, our sniper accuses without any evidence, to ' casigate', 'revile' and 'cast aspersion' on the Cameroonian army.

About the article ' Anglophones are fed-up with Francophones' brandished as a supreme evidence, M. Tchiroma forgot that this article was the art of the French News outlet AFP.

It is true that Jeune Afrique also wrote on the 'Internet Suspension in the anglophone provinces', 'Sparrow Hawk Prisoners', 'the difficulties youths face', 'the disappearance of Guerandi the putchist' four years ago, and the 'heavy jail term inflicted of RFI Hausa Correspondent Ahmed Abba'.

In short, we wrote on what concerns and interests Cameroonians.

Settlement of Personal Scores
Recently, the former Minister of Territorial Administration Marafa Hamidou Yaya, answered questions on our site from his prison cell( and not on our daily publications as erroneously indicated by the minister).

The bitterness between these two, who are renowned public figures, is no doubt, the real motive behind Tchiroma's anger, but in as much as he had the right to react in this interview, that is if he showed interest on our page, he would have been given access.

He is not supposed to have crucified Jeune Afrique like that.

Moreover, why on earth will this Minister of the Republic and spokesman of government believe that he can mingle the Head of State in what looks like a personal settlement of scores and totally unilateral affair?.

The political landscape of Cameroon as it is today, shows that Paul Biya no longer or has no adversary who can measure up to his level. But he has collaborators.

Jeune Afrique
Will Minister Tchiroma blow his vuvuzela any louder on Jeune Afrique with the scars of this punch on his face? Choses a suivre. Stay tuned.

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